Mots-clés

Unseaworthy tanker about to be abandoned

vendredi 14 décembre 2012

The 29 sailors on board the "Pratibha Warna" were on the verge of abandoning ship. The owner had stopped supply of provisions and hadn’t paid their salaries. The moral of the crew of the vessel, in the outer anchorage off Chennai since October 7, was low and many needed immediate help. One of them was suffering from an infection that followed an appendicitis surgery he underwent before joining the vessel. An emergency message to the owner and the shipping authorities by the captainsaid he would be forced to abandon the vessel to save the lives those on board. The diesel on board wouldn’t last more than a week. The air conditioning had not been functioning for six months and fresh water generators were not working. There was fear of marine malaria. Almost all of the crew were feverish and suffer from indigestion often. The vessel had been declared ’unseaworthy’ by the directorate-general of shipping as its safety certification had expired and life boats weren’t operational. The fixed anchors couldn’t be raised due to insufficient fuel.